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Weird Niche: Funny Math Gifts

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I was in the math club in high school and actually did pretty well. I considered going to college for Actuarial Science. Can you imagine my life if I spent all day analyzing numbers? eek! The horror. It’s probably a good thing I chose another major.

Well, over the (many) years since then, my brain cells have died off – mostly due to drinking copious amounts of wine and beer, but my love of math has not.

Fortunately, my son is interested in math and science so I get to live vicariously through him and shop for goofy math t-shirts and other geeky gifts on a regular basis.

So, I have been in Weird Niche Heaven while researching this niche! Can I say “WOO HOO” one more time? 🙂

Let’s see some examples of the cool things I’ve found … and then we’ll dig into dollars and cents.

We’ll start with Think Geek.

NOTE & HIDDEN BUSINESS LESSON:
Pay close attention to the copywriting that Think Geek has in these descriptions. It’s quite clever. I shop there just for pure entertainment value. Their print catalog is even more awesome. (You get one when you place an order.)

Check these out… (You’ve got to click the “BUY” button for more details.)

Pi T-shirt – for the Person who May, at Any Moment, Need to Know the Fifth Number after the Decimal Point in Pi

Pi By Numbers

What is Pi? Some might define it as the ratio of a circle’s circumference divided by its diameter. Others might think it’s an irrational number that’s impossible to know completely. Still others might think it’s a mystical, transcendental, almighty number that will only finally be revealed when society as a whole puts on a bunch of purple felt jump suits and hitches a ride on a nearby comet. Those people aren’t reading this description though. They are browsing the howtothinklikeaflower.com website. But we digress… We here at ThinkGeek like to think of Pi as a way to help you come up with creative reasons to spend your hard earned cash on a T-shirt. Quick question. When is Pi day? March 14th of course. Think about that for a second. Now, while still mesmerized, drop this shirt into your shopping cart. Metro blue 100% cotton heavyweight t-shirt with the Pi symbol on it. The first 4493 digits of Pi were used to construct the Pi symbol itself. That’s a whole lot of Pi. Enough for everybody to share so don’t get greedy on us now. A big shout out from ThinkGeek goes to Archimedes way back in the B.C. for finally giving us a good approximation of Pi, and doing so without the benefit of modern trigonometry. And thanks to the Egyptians and Babylonians for trying.

Pi Ice Cube Trays – for the Person who Needs Math in His Coke

Pi Symbol Ice Cube Trays

When hosting the next soirée at your geek bachelor pad you’ll need the proper equipment to ensure success. All three major gaming consoles, a flat screen over 40″ wide, a well trained dungeon master, a complete Star Wars action figure collection, and a fully stocked liquor cabinet are a must. But how about ice? You were planning to use that standard vaguely cubical stuff?… or worse the boring half-moon shape your fridge churns out? Well fear not intrepid nerdy party planner! ThinkGeek is here with the geekiest ice you’ll ever find… Pi ice! Yep these stylish silicone ice trays cast frozen H2O into the symbol for your favorite irrational number. The chicks will swoon when you hand them a drink filled with Pi ice, and Archimedes will give you a big thumbs up for your tasty Pi Jello shots.

Math Clock – This Made My Brain Hurt Because of Course I Had to Check All of the Numbers.

Pop Quiz Math Clock

Pop Quiz, hotshot. Think back to a time when you were a young geek. Sure, you were brilliant at math, but being asked to solve problems on the chalkboard… That’s the stuff of nightmares. Thankfully, that time is over… Or is it? The smell of chalk, and the feel of the blackboard is still fresh in your mind. If you close your eyes, you can almost feel the eyes staring at your back as you labor to engage your brain and simplify the polynomial. Can you feel your heart beat faster? Are your hands sweaty? Relax! This is just a clock! This lovely new timepiece appears to have been hand-written by that evil math teacher we all had to endure. Each hour is marked by a simple math problem. Solve it and solve the riddle of time. Or, you can just know that “52 – x2 + x = 10” happens to live in the “7 o’clock” position* and be done with it. * – Yes, we know that 52 – x2 + x = 10 allows for 7 and -6 as a possible answer, but since there is no such thing as -6 o’clock, the correct answer becomes glaringly obvious.

Here’s what I found when I looked around the ‘net. (click on images to see more info)

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Comments

Haha! I’ve seen that last poster before too and loved it. I showed it to my boyfriend and he just looked at me weird, lol.

Not to try to compete with you but did you know I’m a geek too? I haven’t EVEN told many people this but I was actually secretary of the Chemistry Society in College – seriously! (guess the secret’s out now) And I’ve been to a Star Trek convertion (pretty sure that makes me some form of geek though I’m not actually a fanatic). I also have a diploma in Chemical Engineering Technology.

This is awesome! Ben wants me to order several for him. I think I’m doing some Christmas shopping now. 🙂
The great thing about this niche is that the geeks are online in large numbers. Unlike, say, Amish woodworkers who are a little bit tougher to reach online. 🙂

Actuarial science?? As if that Wikipedia link even helped me! LOL I do love, love, love geeky humor! I try to pretend to be in the geek crowd. I can spell nauseatingly well and I’m a grammar nut, but, the truth is – I aspire to hang with my brothers – who are both grotesquely smart! LOL Well, and now my sons. Darn brainiacs! I do love them so much, though! And with all my computer-wrangling the last few years, I believe I deserve an honorary membership, if nothing else! Ha!

Sheesh Nicole, have you been living at our house. We HAVE that clock! It’s my middle son, what can I say. Where he gets those genes I don’t know.

Another tshirt he owns — Calculus – Yes, it is rocket science. Another t-shirt: Common problems in solving calculus (covered with equations, which he looked at and went, “Yeah, I see that a lot” cuz he tutors at the local college.) And ALL the Rubik’s cubes up to 7 sides, which he can solve.

This kid we’re dropping off at Caltech this weekend for his freshman year, cuz those geeks actually gather at places like that. The thing is, he’s a tall Caucasian kid among a sea of Asian and Indian students. What does that tell us about math/science education in this country?

Wasn’t it Bill Gates who said the geeks shall inherit the world? That’s another good gift — a book — The Geeks Guide to World Domination — also available at ThinkGeek or Amazon. It’s pretty darn funny.

Guess I should look into this niche, having lived with it personally – ha! Son #3 is just as geeked out on computer sci!

This is terrific! i am going to book mark it as a favorite so i can get some great gifts for my math teaching daughter! sometimes when she talks, i have no idea what she is saying. she would have made the same ovservation as your hubbie 🙂
how fun!
thx.
Susie

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Think Geek! I’m on their email and newsletter list and spend way too much time at work perusing their website, but you are right – its great for comic relief. I have also been trying to find a way to make that niche segue into my bookkeeping/accounting start-up. I considered the name AccountGeeks, but just cant figure out how to be both serious/professional and and ingeniously witty, like the think Geek writers, at the same time….oh and get clients.

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My mission: To help busy online marketers, specifically infoproduct sellers, to build sustainable online businesses that help them reach their financial and lifestyle goals while making both the web and the world a better place. And, hopefully having a lot of fun while doing it!